Based upon results of the group study organized by the Welfare Ministry, the present status of Buerger's disease (TAO) in Japan were described.
1. There may be about 4, 000-5, 000 patients with TAO at present in Japan. Results obtained from 3, 034 patients of TAO revealed that male vs female was 30:1 in incidence and 92.4% of the patients were smoking.
2. Although symptoms mainly appeared in the lower extremities, intermittent claudication was less observed than in Arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO). Thrombophlebitis migrans was emphasized as a special sign of TAO.
3. Dangerous complications were far less found in TAO than in ASO.
4. In the histopathological study of the vessels in TAO, granulomatous changes with epitheloid cells and fibrous proliferation of intima were occasionally found in the acute stage of the disease. The pathogenesis of TAO, i. e., immunological factor or mechanical injury, were discussed in relation to those findings.
5. Angiographies in 809 cases with represented the characteristic findings of the disease as follows: The arterial occlusion may mainly be limited below the inguinal ligament or at the forearm and was most frequently observed near the foot or hand joint. It was confirmed that no changes is found in the arteries which are not occluded. However, irregularity of the wall or stenosis, which were distinctly differ from those frequently seen in ASO, were occasionally found. Other special findings to be emphasized were tapering-type occlusion, cork screw or tree root configuration, smooth diffuse narrowing and thread-like changes of the arteries.
6. By the haematological examinations, abnormalities in the blood coagulability and/or the platelett function may be supposed in the patients of TAO.
7. The immunogenetical examinations revealed that the special types (BJW22.2, J-1) of HLA-typing should be noticed in the patients of TAO and AVA in the serum was significantly higher in TAO (68.8%) than in ASO (12.5%).
8. The lipid metabolism may not be concerned in the genesis of TAO, because triglyceride, lipoprotein, NEFA, phospholipid, and total cholesterol were not significantly increased in the serum of patients.